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Who's Who - Count Mihaly Karolyi von Nagykaroly

Count Mihaly Karolyi von
Nagykaroly (1875-1955) served as Hungary's last Prime Minister before its
independence from the Habsburg Empire in November 1918.

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Born on 4 March 1875 in Fot
to a prominent aristocratic Hungarian family, Karolyi entered politics with
his election to the Hungarian parliament in 1910 in his expected capacity as
a conservative. He quickly shifted his views to left however.

Among Karolyi's policies he
argued for land reform, universal suffrage and equality for Hungary's
non-Magyar subjects - all of which were considered extreme in pre-war
Austria-Hungarian politics. Consequently he found himself marginalised
with the result that he established his own party in 1916.

Belatedly attempting to
preserve the Dual Monarchy the Emperor,
Karl I, appointed
Karolyi as Hungarian Prime Minister on 31 October 1918, replacing
Alexander Wekerle,
who had earned the ire of Karl by declaring Hungarian independence on 19
October, although Karl remained nominal King (hence his ability to promptly
engineer Wekerle's downfall)

Alas for Karl Karolyi's
appointment did not abate the fire of Hungarian nationalism as he hoped;
instead it brought it to a head. The day following his appointment as
Prime Minister Karolyi asked for release from his imperial oath, a request
granted by Karl.

Ten days later, on 11
November 1918, Karolyi completed Wekerle's earlier task by proclaiming a
Hungarian republic, partly with the hope of stemming the Allies' subsequent
territorial demands at treaty talks by distancing the country from the
dissolved Habsburg Empire (in the event without success).

Karolyi's popularity fell
as the Allies' made repeated demands for territorial concessions. In
March 1919 his government fell in the face of a Communist coup led by
Bela Kun.

Karolyi spent the following
27 years in exile, returning to Hungary in 1946 as a left-wing socialist.
He was appointed ambassador to Paris from 1947-49 but resigned following the
arrest of Laszlo Rajk.

He died on 20 March 1955 in
Vence, France, at the age of 80.

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